Former Northern Irish politician sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual abuse of a child

The verdict has been announced in the trial of Donaldson, a pro-British Northern Irish politician who served as a Member of Parliament in the UK Parliament for 27 years, where he was tried on 18 separate counts of child sexual abuse.

Donaldson, who resigned from all political positions after being detained in 2024 while serving as the leader of the pro-British DUP, was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison for all 18 crimes of which he was found guilty in June.

His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, who was tried on charges of aiding and abetting Donaldson, did not attend the court due to her medical condition. It has not yet been announced what measures will be applied to Eleanor Donaldson, whom the court found guilty of aiding and abetting.

Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife have the option to appeal the verdict against them.

Following the hearing at the Newry Crown Court in Northern Ireland, Donaldson's party, the DUP, issued a statement saying, "Justice has been served."

In a written statement from the party, it was said, "Justice has been served with Jeffrey Donaldson being sentenced for his vile and abhorrent crimes against his victims. Our thoughts are with the innocent victims who were subjected to this evil and were re-traumatized by testifying in court."

Emphasizing that everyone, regardless of their title or name, must be held accountable for their actions, the statement included the phrase, "He deserves every single day of the lengthy prison sentence he was given after being found guilty of abusing innocent children."

Donaldson was detained in March 2024 along with his wife on 18 different charges allegedly committed against two females when they were still children between 1985 and 2008.

Donaldson denied the charges, but was found guilty of all of them in June, with trial judge Paul Ramsey stating that Donaldson showed no remorse and had increased his level of denial.